Mewsings from Lowecat (aka Indianacat)

My rants, ravings, and overall 'mewsings' on life, the universe, and everything.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

A Girl and Her Bike



Ahh! A sunny day, with 72 degrees as a high, a great day for ridin', and that I have done and gettin' ready to do again. That, my friends, is me, on my ride, a 1981 Yamaha Seca 750 that I named Tig (after my favorite character in Sons of Anarchy).

It's been a long winter. And Fall. And late Summer. Tig developed some kind of an issue that he would conk out after a mile of ridin'. That meant I missed out on the ride around I-465 last year with other riders, and didn't get to do much but a mile at a time, sit and wait for him to cool down, and then ride home.

I thought it might've been another carb problem. Then the starter quit. Tappin' the starter didn't make anything happen, he just clicked.

I missed my Tig, that's for sure. In late Feb, just after we had a major ice/snow storm, I had Tig towed to Cycle Re Cycle, the original, here in Indianapolis. They're the best people I've found who can handle the repairs of older bikes like mine, and they treat a person well. No BS. No hidden charges.

Bill Allen, the mechanic extraordinaire, took very good care of Tig. His starter brushes were in need of repair/replacement, and he had a very rusty gas filter. I need a new gas tank very soon, and he can put a new one on for me as soon as the money comes in. There are some good tanks on Ebay for my boy.

The new gas filter is a larger one, which should keep some of the rust from gettin' built up and causin' the same problem. I won't be takin' Tig on a long ride yet. Not until the gas tank is replaced.

Won't help to run CLR through the gas tank (after it's taken off, that is). Too much rust has built up. Makes sense. If he'd had one in stock, Bill would've put one on. He looked.

So after putting my last dime into the gas tank (thank Gawd tomorrow is pay day), I rode my boy home. He roared. He felt good between my legs. The wind in my ears (yes, I wore my helmet, but it doesn't cover my ears, wanna be able to hear what's comin' at me). The wind in my face felt great.

It felt good to return the thumbs up from fellow riders, and there were many of us out today. Hell, why not? It's sunny, warm, a little windy, but a great day for ridin'. Fascinatin' how riders won't return the thumbs up when you're in your car, but we'll return it to another rider.

Got a chance to wear my 'cut', such as it is. Relax. It's not a MC cut. No patches, baby. But it does have a cat pin on each side. Blue eyes, silver cat's head. Got it at the motorcycle show last month where I met Tommy Flanagan. Found out why you might want to snap your cut closed. Wind gusts can make the damn thing flap, and the wind is gusting around here.

Also know why many bikers have a chain on their wallets. Not because it looks badass. To keep your wallet from flyin' out yer ass pocket! The vibrations makes one's wallet ride up with wear. I had to move my wallet (which is NOT a typical man's wallet anyway) into the inner pocket of my cut to keep it from flyin' out.

Hey, it's a learning curve.

So Tig and I are back together again, and all is right with the world. Now, to get my husband, affectionately known as the DH, to go for a ride with me. I've gotten him to sit on the bike, but that was when Tig wouldn't start. And I have the picture to prove it!

Today I could've blogged about the GD'd legislative Demos still bein' in another state, or about my feelings about the Tsunami/Earthquake in Japan (which is devastating anyway and I already posted on that), or about something else grumpy, but I'm in too good of a damn mood to be down.

Now, Tig and I are gonna go play.

Live to Ride, Ride to Live.

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